#blahvsfood : Eat. Drink. Think....The Importance of Edible Archives

A Naga pork with Bamboo shoot, served with a blend of Ajrah Ghansal and Laisal,
both indigenous Indian rice breeds 

There are very few restaurants in India as important as Edible Archives. Though to call it a restaurant would be to do it a disservice. It forces you to not just eat and drink but think, really think, about our relationship with food and how what we eat impacts the community and the world. You look at food from the perspective of ecology and sustainability, as history and culture, from community and impact. It is considered and thoughtful and pathbreaking and provocative. 

The extraordinarily decadent serradura, the best version I’ve ever had 

Having started as a popup at the Kochi Bienelle that aimed to help rediscover and revive the indigenous rices of India, Edible Archives is now a much more ambitious project. The restaurant in Goa is merely the physical manifestation of a philosophical journey that seeks to help our country find a better way to consume food. A newer way. But one that is based on an ancient wisdom that must be rediscovered, saved and preserved. There are places that are written about when the historical record is documented. Then there are places that fundamentally shape the historical record. Edible archives is one of those rare places. It is essential. 

We ate:

- Amuse  bouche: maadi (a local root vegetable) cutlet 

- Kombu salad

Tempura (local croaker, aubergine) with ponzu  sauce

- Chonak fish cooked with turmeric and dill, accompanied by hand-rolled noodles

- Naga pork with dried bamboo shoot, indigenous rice blend (Ajrah Ghansal and Laicha), lightly stewed bottlegourd

Dessert: 

-  Serradura 

- Pandan cream with elaichi banana fritters